Visit to Sydney - day 3 & 4 (Birthday lunch and visit to Cockatoo Island)

On Sunday 3rd March - Jose had arranged for a birthday lunch with our Sydney friends at Casa do Benfica, in the suburb of Marrickville.
A former clubhouse for the Benfica sports club in Lisbon, even though it has kept the name it's now just a Portuguese restaurant attached to the Marrickville tennis club. 

We got a lift from Jose's landlord and his wife, a lovely younger Iranian couple who have "adopted" him into their social lives, for which I'm very grateful. 
Three other Portuguese friends who live in Sydney were present and believe it or not it was a typical Portuguese weekend family lunch that lasted from just after 12 pm when we arrived until 5pm when we left!!

Top left to right : The Iranian neighbours next to Jose, me and my friend Bebe and husband.
Bottom left to right: M a former Perth friend now living in Sydney, Jose and neighbours. M's husband standing and another young couple we met through them.

The varied menu includes a lot of Portuguese specialties and I chose a Tuna steak with potatoes, something I hadn't eaten in years. The food was delicious as always (we usually have a meal there every time I visit Sydney).

Tuna steak with onions, boiled potatoes and salad

After the long lunch we drove home, through the Anzac Bridge.

View of the city before crossing the Anzac Bridge

Monday, 4th March - I met up with my friend Bebe at Circular Quay, so we could catch a ferry to Cockatoo Island.
The MS Queen Elizabeth was docked at Circular Quay that morning.

We caught the next ferry and could admire the beautiful views of Sydney from the water. 

The Barangaroo Reserve area (top), Opera House and Bridge and Circular Quay and Queen Elizabeth cruiser

Panoramic photo - leaving Circular Quay

After a couple of stops we docked at Cockatoo island, a UNESCO world heritage listed island in the middle of Sydney harbour.

Lovely houses on the way

Cockatoo Island entrance and map showing the island (green) in the middle of the Sydney harbour

At the Visitors Centre we paid for our audio tour earphones ($5) and started our walk around the island.

Cockatoo Island was used as a convict settlement from 1839 to 1869, and prisoners were subject to harsh living conditions, solitary confinement, etc.

From 1869 to 1888 an industrial school for girls and reformatory operated on the island and after the girls were moved out it again became a jail until 1908.

Shipbuilding began in 1870 and by 1913 the island became the Naval Dockyard of the Royal Australian Navy. Due to international competition shipbuilding, end of submarine refit program, unions, strikes, etc., by 1991 the dockyards closed.

Tunnels, Dockyard from where ships were sent to sea and workshop

In recent times the island has been the location of movies, namely "Wolverine" where the industrial interiors and set scenes were constructed in the workshops, and in Angelina Jolie's  film "Unbroken" about Louis Zamperini, the Olympian and Japanese prisoner set during World War II, where the workshops and outdoor areas were used in the scenes.

Pictures pertaining to the dockyard era of the island, and one of the areas used in the film "Unbroken".

The island is also used for concerts and has a few houses and tents that are rented out as holiday accommodation. 

After lunch at a "container coffee shop", my friend and I sat down in front of this big house admiring the view and having a chat.

Houses with fabulous views rented for holidays

Panoramic photo - from Cockatoo island (Sydney in the distance,in the middle)

On our ferry return we alighted at the Barangaroo Reserve wharf and walked to the nearby Darling Harbour.

Arriving at Barangaroo reserve ferry wharf, the city and the Barangaroo area from a distance

A new "green" building caught my eye, but I also liked the old Shelbourne Hotel built in 1902, which can be seen from the pedestrian bridge out of Darling Harbour, from where the Sydney Tower can be spotted.

Super modern green building and the 1902 Shelbourne Hotel (bottom right)

We caught the train from Town Hall station to Central station and walked about a block or two so my friend Bebe could show me a "green" apartment block at 2 Broadway, Chippendale right across from the Technical University.

One Central Park, a 623 apartment block was voted the best tall building in the world in 2014, among 87 other entries.

It features 1,120 square metres of vertical gardens with 35,200 plants of 383 different species, an internal water recycling plant and a low-carbon generation power plant.

It has also been awarded a five-star green star by the Green Building Council Australia.

The building has a pool, spa and gym at the top and shopping centre below.

One Central Park, a 5 star rated green building. It must be amazing in Spring

 

Just around the corner in Kensington street, historic workers cottages and industrial warehouses are home to a few Asian eateries, Chinese lanterns and a few murals - the very cool Spice Alley.

Spice Alley in Kensington street (near Central station)

It was almost 5pm, time when Jose leaves work from the offices at Central Station, and I gave him a ring so he could wait for me.

We arranged to meet under the train station departure board, and when he arrived we bade farewell to Bebe as we were going in different directions.
We caught the train to Circular Quay and then the 207 bus home to Middle Cove.
Another full day visiting locations I hadn't yet seen.

Central Station building and inside

Suspension Bridge from 1892 in the suburb of Northbridge - on the way home

Visit to Sydney - Day 2 and Signs (Art gallery, Botanic Gardens and birthday dinner)

Saturday, 2nd March - It was my birthday and after breakfast we caught the 207 bus into the city.
After alighting from the bus we walked to the Art Gallery of New South Wales. 
On the way there I spotted what looked like a tree hanging from a building. I went into the lane to investigate and found that it was a "fake tree" statue.  Strange 😕

Some statues, flower borders on pedestrian areas between buildings, and the ever present Ibis or bin chicken as it's also known.




At the gallery I joined a long queue to buy tickets for the  exhibition "Masters of modern art from the Hermitage" that was ending the following day.

Art Gallery of NSW - the building, entry and one of the galleries (bottom right)

With tickets purchased ($28 each) we joined the crowds of people in front of every piece of art. A lot of people would take selfies in front of every painting making it difficult to take pictures...

There were 65 artworks from French artists including Monet, Gaugin, Cézanne, Pissarro, Picasso, Matisse and Signac.

Cezanne (top 2), Monet and Gaugin (my favourites)

Portraits by : Andre Derain, Felix Valloton, Henri Matisse. Left right: Kees van Dongen ,Henri Matisse and Kandinsky (left)

Paul Signac - I quite liked this technique

Pablo Picasso (top and bottom right) and Henri Matisse (bottom left)

Top: Henri Mangun, Henri Matisse.  Bottom : Henri Matisse, Camille Pissaro

After this exhibition we walked around the rest of the Museum (free area) and it was almost closing time (5pm) when we left the gallery.
During my visit to the Art Gallery in June 2018, the statue of Captain Cook was in front of a massive window looking out at the bay. Now the statue was centre stage in another gallery.

Various works of art with Captain Cook at the centre of the gallery

Across the road at the Royal Botanic gardens, the "Plants that bite" exhibition at the Calyx had already closed at 4pm, and a wedding reception was being prepared. While the bride and groom posed for photos around the park, the guests mingled near the Calyx.

The bride and groom taking photos, the little boy in the suit had a dummy/pacifier, the Calyx and the tables being set for the wedding inside the Calyx exhibition room that could be seen through the sign on the side of the building

We walked around, found the koala topiary, visited the herb garden and sat down quietly while listening to the birds on the trees.

Herb garden & flowers

Before dark we walked to Circular Quay to take the train just one stop down to Green Square.

Panoramic photo of the Opera House, Bridge, cruise ship on Circular Quay and some of the surrounding buildings

A lot of the train commuters were dressed up to join the Mardi Gras parade in the city.
I would have loved to see this very popular parade, but there was no time for it, we just saw two of the floats.



From Green Square station we walked 20 min until we reached "The Grounds of Alexandria". I had found this quirky restaurant through a blog I read recently and I chose it for my birthday dinner.
It opened in 2012 on a former industrial area and consists of a restaurant, garden, bakery & patisserie, coffee roastery, animal farm, florist and markets.
The area didn't disappoint for sure and we explored some of the areas and then went to the "Potting Shed" restaurant for our dinner.

The various areas in the Ground of Alexandria

Chickens and a piglet in the animal shed, people were roasting marshmallows when we arrived (1 left after dinner)

Note the sign at the entrance of the Potting Shed

The food was tasty, presentation was fabulous, the desserts were exquisite, cocktails very expensive (but we had a glass of wine only)...

Our starter - Mussels with coconut cream, battered fish for me, Scotch fillet for Jose, mango parfait (yummy) and Ruby chocolate mousse

After dinner we caught a waiting taxi to the Green Square station, a train back to the city and then a bus home where we arrived well past 11pm.
It was a full day but very enjoyable and I got to do all I had wanted for my birthday 😍

And joining the "Signs" meme today I leave you with some of the signs seen at the New South Wales Art gallery.

For other signs follow this link: http://signs2.blogspot.com

 

Visit to Sydney - Day 1 (Flight and Barangaroo Reserve)

To take advantage of a public holiday in Western Australia (Monday 4th March) and to celebrate my birthday with my husband (on the 2nd), I flew to Sydney on Friday 1st of March.
For some light entertainment I watched "Ladies in Black" - an Australian movie based on an Australian novel written by Madeleine St John, using well known Australian actors and featuring British actress Julia Ormond, and "The old man and the gun" a film based on the story of a career criminal and prison escapee, starring Robert Redford and Sissy Spacek.
*(You-tube trailers below)

On arrival in Sydney at 4,30pm, I caught the train into Circular Quay where Jose met me.

Circular Quay is the main ferry terminal as well as port for international cruise ships, and a transport node for buses and a railway station which is part of the underground Circle Line.

It is also one of Sydney's favourite tourism precincts, being the gateway to Sydney Harbour Bridge, The Rocks, the Sydney Opera House and via the foreshore walkway to the Royal Botanic Gardens.

As usual a massive cruiser was docked there - "The Explorer of the Seas". The cruise ships usually arrive early in the morning and depart in the early evening.

On my "to visit list" this time was Barangaroo Reserve, which is a development project just behind the historical suburb of "The Rocks", and even though Jose wasn't too keen on a walk, as he had to lug my hand luggage uphill, but with a few hours of daylight ahead, he agreed and we proceeded.

The former wharves of East Darling Harbour, have been developed and have opened up this waterfront area to the public in more than 100 years.

The Barangaroo project will be finished by 2024, providing a beautiful and continuous 14km waterfront walkway. Right now part of the waterfront has been finished with green areas and lots of square cut sandstone walls - a perfect spot to relax and watch the sun set.

Further down a few modern residential and commercial buildings have popped up and Crown Casino & Hotel is under construction.
A Sydney Metro station will eventually open up in the area too.

The Crown Casino under construction - area still under development

After our walk around Barangaroo we returned to The Rocks and had dinner at Caminetto, an Italian Restaurant where we'd eaten on one of my previous trips. Food and service were good.

Seafood Risotto (the oysters went to my husband as I don't eat them) and Tiramisu for dessert

The Rocks at night time

After dinner we walked back via Circular Quay and up to Bridge Street where we caught the 207 bus to Middle Cove.

The Opera House and Circular Quay at night

    Barangaroo Reserve (cream area on left), Circular Quay (middle), Botanic Gardens (green area)


You-tube trailers : Ladies in Black and The old man and the gun: